Fiber is an important dietary component. Typical grains (including cereals prepared from such grains), fresh vegetables and fruits, and the like are an important source of dietary fiber. Rice, including rice-based cereals, however, do not typically provide a significant amount of fiber.
Most of the nutrients (including fiber and B vitamins) of whole rice are found in the outer layer or kernel (i.e., the bran). Rice bran also contains lipase enzymes which can cause rancidity within a relatively short time after harvesting. Thus, typically the bran (along with its fiber and nutrients) are removed before using the rice to prepare commercial food products (e.g., cereals). Such treated rice (e.g., cleaned and hulled) generally contains less than about 1 percent total dietary fiber (including soluble and insoluble fiber). Thus, cereals prepared from rice are typically not good sources of fiber.
Incorporation of fiber in rice without adversely affecting its performance in cereal manufacture has not been possible on a commercial scale. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,248,390 (Jun. 19, 2001) provides a “fiber water” containing significant levels of water soluble dietary fiber. This fiber water can be used to enrich foods, such as rice, by cooking the foods in fiber water. Cooked rice prepared in this manner does indeed provide a good source of fiber. The cooked rice, however, is not suitable for preparing rice-containing cereals, especially, puffed rice cereals, due to both its high water levels and the stickiness of the cooked rice. Such rice is simply not suitable for use in a conventional commercial cereal making production line.
Moreover, adding fiber after the rice has been cooked (i.e., during the later stages of cereal manufacture) has not been successful. The added fiber interferes with the manufacture process (e.g., prevent other coating materials to adhere to or penetrate the cereal particles), simply fails to adhere to the cereal particles themselves, and/or tends to agglomerate the cereal particles together. In any event, a satisfactory cereal product has not been possible.
Consequently, there remains a need to provide rice-based cereals containing relatively high levels of fiber. The present invention provides such methods using a fiber-infusion process during the cooking step.